Dive Brief:
- According to a report in Kaiser Health News, Medicare patients with breast cancer who received radiation treatment after surgery were more likely to receive a costly therapy at a for-profit than a not-for-profit hospital.
- The finding, which comes from research funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, comes from a study examining the care of 35,118 women between the ages of 66 and 94 who were covered by Medicare and got breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer in 2008 in 2009. Only 8% of the women were treated at for-profit hospitals.
- Of the women who received radiation treatment, 15.2% received brachytherapy at nonprofit hospitals, compared with 20% at for-profit hospitals.
Dive Insight:
Brachytherapy is a newer type of radiation therapy which involves implanting a radiation source into the lumpectomy cavity of the breast, according to KHN. It takes less time than standard radiation but costs twice as much. According to Becker's Hospital Review, recent studies have raised questions about its effectiveness and whether its risks outweigh its benefits. The fact that for-profit hospitals seem slightly more likely to use this therapy raises questions as to whether they have thoroughly examined the procedure and have chosen to prioritize profitability.